Three major works for Passiontide by two of today’s
most
striking composers:
performing in four of England’s most prestigious venues in the run up to Easter, The Dmitri Ensemble’s PASSIONTIDE 2008 project features James MacMillan’s celebrated Seven Last Words from the Cross alongside Giles Swayne’s striking Stabat Mater for solo quartet and choir. Interspersing the Latin stanzas with texts from the Muslim and Jewish burial services, Swayne creates a collective mourning of grief in a remarkable, powerfully relevant new setting. MacMillan draws on his devout Catholicism in both the rarely-heard chorus version of his …here in hiding… and in his hauntingly beautiful Seven Last Words from the Cross for choir and string orchestra.
The Dmitri Ensemble tours to Cambridge, Norwich and London, prior to the release of its debut disc of works by James MacMillan for NAXOS. We look forward to welcoming you to an inspiring programme of major new works for Passiontide.
See Performances for venue and booking details.
MacMillan Seven Last Words from the Cross
“music of awe-inspiring agonized simplicity” BBC Music Magazine
“intensely dramatic, often harrowingly poignant … a masterpiece of our time” Birmingham Post
Swayne Stabat Mater
“mindblowing, contrasting moments of awesome power coupled with poignant emotion” Church Music Quarterly
“undoubtedly the finest choral composer writing today” The Times
The Dmitri Ensemble is grateful to the PASSIONTIDE 2008 project sponsors:
- Gerry Mattock & Beryl Calver-Jones
- His Honour Michael Kennedy Q.C.
